The muggers that caused all the bad publicity have been caught. Check out the Roc n Rope website.

I've been to Boven a couple of times this year (including the long Easter weekend) and haven't heard of any more muggings. On a few occasions my girlfriend and I turned out to be the only people at the crags (The Other Side, Coven, Waterfall, Tranquilitas, etc) and didn't feel unsafe at all (except for the exposure on some routes ).

Besided the risk involved in climbing itself, I doubt if there are currently any safety issues at Boven. Just go there and enjoy some of the Best climbing SA has to offer.

_________________Climbing may be hard, but it's easier than growing up!

Hey Phazer, we are currently swamped with Americans, Canadians and a Kiwi (who can not do the Haka!). They and the usual weekend traffic have been climbing everywhere for the last 6 months without any problems.

I was there yesterday and in the afternoon went to visit flying is fun wall. After a while we realized there was a guy watching us from the bushes. When he realized that we saw him, he came out saying don't be scared and kept on repeating that. Then he started asking question about guns and digital cameras. We were done for the day so we left but with him there it would have been impossible to continues since we had a digital camera with us, cell phones and wallets.

I was there yesterday and in the afternoon went to visit flying is fun wall. After a while we realized there was a guy watching us from the bushes. When he realized that we saw him, he came out saying don't be scared and kept on repeating that. Then he started asking question about guns and digital cameras. We were done for the day so we left but with him there it would have been impossible to continues since we had a digital camera with us, cell phones and wallets.

Just a thought but it would probally help if everyone left all their cameras, wallets, cellphones ect in your car. If those *@#%$& keep on making successful robberies, they will keep on coming back. Put the message out there that climbers are not worth robbing.

Well I have been going to boven for well over 3/4 yrs now. I have climbed pretty much all over boven, I have gone in groups of 2 up to around 7. I usually avoid the coven and flying is fun but have climbed at both places. Never had any problems (this doesn't mean there aren't any) it's just a matter of being safe. Keep all your valuables in a safe place (locked in the car for instance).

It must be added that there are hundreds of climbing venues all over South Africa that have not been closed. & that there are millions of people who live every day in CT & JHB.

Robert Young Pelton's book The World's Most Dangerous Places....rates SA reasonably safe compared to the rest of the world. He says South Africans just like to moan & complain alot. It's a good book to read as it puts SA into perspective.

Well back from boven after being there this weekend, never had any feeling of being unsafe or even see any suspicious characters. We went to the waterfall and did a abseil down the side of it, and hiked from the bottom out towards the viewpoint again, went to flying is fun crag, halocegenic crag, and forgot the name of the one there at elandsriver resort where the the lookout is etc. Loved Boven and cannot wait to get back there.

Yup Gaper butress that's the one. Nope warm pool was out of order, quite a shame as it was bloody cold in the evenings, would have been nice to lounge in hot water.

Yeah the pool has been down for around 4-5 months now, thats ridiculous. Ah well hopefully in 3/4 weeks when I go the pool will be up and running. (not holding my breath)

If you are climbing gaper buttress/ gaper face I would highly recommend Pocket rocket (25), not sure what grade you are climbing. But it's a great pumpy route with some nice balancy moves and just a pump fest to the top.

I went on an awesome vasity trip to Boven last week (Monday to Friday) in a largish group (12). The climbing was great and we all had an amazing time. There was only one damper, the window of the combi was broken on the Thursday while it was parked in the main area above the crag.

To be fair, we saw broken glass on the Monday when we parked there but (perhaps naively) thought nothing of it. On Friday we decided it would be better to walk from Roc & Rope (took approximately 15-20 minutes) rather than park the other car there and risk the same thing happening.

Don't get me wrong, the trip was great and everyone had a fantastic time, it was just a bit of a downer at the end of a great trip.

Dave

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